From the province's own records
How far above assessment do homes sell here? Further than most people think.
Most owners read their assessment notice as roughly what the house is worth. Measured against what homes actually sold for, it usually is not. Here is the gap across Greater Saint John and in each community, with the spread that matters more than the average.
The Custom House · Prince William Street, demolished 1960
17.8%
median above assessment
4.3% to 35.3%
the middle half of sales
3,196
home sales since January 1, 2025
A quarter of homes sold for less than 4.3% above their assessment, and a quarter for more than 35.3% above it. That spread, not the median, is the honest answer to “what are homes selling for against their assessments?”
By community
Every community with at least 100 recorded sales since January 1, 2025. Fewer than that and the figures describe a handful of deals, not a place.
| Community | Median above assessment | Middle half | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fundy-St. Martins | 43% | 15.2% to 74.8% | 134 |
| Rothesay | 17.8% | 5.9% to 31.9% | 311 |
| Quispamsis | 17.4% | 5.8% to 32.3% | 577 |
| Saint John | 17.3% | 3.5% to 34.5% | 1,751 |
| Grand Bay-Westfield | 17.3% | 3.5% to 34.6% | 138 |
| Hampton | 15.2% | 2.6% to 32.5% | 285 |
If you are selling
Your assessment is a starting point for nothing in particular. Look up what the province has on record for your address, then see what homes near you have actually been fetching against theirs. A real number for one house takes looking at the house.
What is my home worth?What sells around your address, once a month
If you are buying
The seller’s tax bill is not yours. New Brunswick limits how fast the value a long-held home is taxed on can climb, and a sale can end that, so the first bill under new ownership can land well above the number attached to the listing. The rules are worth reading before you budget.
Questions
- Do homes in Saint John sell for more than their assessed value?
- Most do. Across 3,196 recorded home sales in Greater Saint John since January 1, 2025, the median sale came in 17.8% above the provincial assessment, and the middle half of sales ran from 4.3% to 35.3% above it.
- Can I multiply my assessment by that percentage to get my home's value?
- No. The middle half of sales alone spans about 31 percentage points, so the same assessment could sit beside two very different prices. Condition, the street, what has been updated and the month all move a price. The gap describes the market; it does not value any one house.
- Why would a sale price be so far above the assessment?
- The records measure the gap; they do not say why. What is worth knowing is that an assessment is set for every property in the province each year, usually without anyone walking through the house, so it cannot see a new kitchen or a tired roof. A sale price is one buyer's answer about one house on one day, and the two will rarely agree.
- Does my assessment go up after I buy?
- It can. How New Brunswick assesses a home after it changes hands, and the tax credit that does not pass with the deed, are set out in the province's own words on the property tax after buying page, including the part the statute leaves unresolved for homes bought during 2026.
Computed August 19, 2026 from the Province of New Brunswick’s property assessment and sales records: residential transfers in Greater Saint John since January 1, 2025, each compared with the property’s assessed value, with 117 extreme ratios left out as unlikely to be ordinary sales. Recorded transfers, not MLS sales. This describes what sale prices did; it says nothing about whether any assessment is correct, and it is not tax advice. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – New Brunswick.
